Method for controlling camera of device and device thereof

ABSTRACT

Provided are a method of controlling a camera of a device capable of minimizing a vision difference between a front camera and a user by displaying a reduced size preview image within a partial region of a display proximate to a lens of the front camera. When a photo is taken while the user views the reduced size preview image, a more natural image is captured.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed on Oct. 30, 2012 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial No. 10-2012-0121094, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to camera devices having a display, andmore particularly, to devices including a front camera for shooting in aself-portrait mode, and methods for controlling such devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent portable terminals having a camera function, the size of thedisplay has gradually increased in size, such that a portable terminalhaving a display size of five inches or larger has become common.Accordingly, a distance between a location of a front camera forshooting in a self-portrait camera mode and the center of the displaydisplaying a preview image, increases when a larger display is employed.This increase in distance causes a problem in which the user's eyesappear unnatural when shooting in the self-portrait camera mode.

For example, referring to FIG. 1, a portable terminal 10 according tothe related art includes a display unit 20 and a front camera 30provided at the same surface as the display unit 20. In the device 100according to the related art having a size of four inches or larger, thedistance between the center of the display unit 20 and the front camera30 is several inches. To shoot a photo with the front camera 30, if theuser views a preview image displayed on the display unit 20 to confirm auser's feature, the user's eyes gaze at the center of the display unitfarther away from the front camera 30. Accordingly, since the user looksat a place other than the camera in the captured photo, the user's eyesin the photograph appear unnatural. To prevent such a phenomenon, a usermight stare at the front camera during the shooting, instead of at thedisplay, but this has been shown to be inconvenient and irritating tousers.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Disclosed are methods operable in a device having a camera and adisplay. In embodiments, an image is captured through the camera.Substantially an entirety of the captured image is displayed as areduced size preview image in a partial region of the display proximateto a lens of the camera.

The reduced size preview image is reduced in comparison to a normal sizepreview image displayable on the entire display. If the user gazes atthe reduced size preview image while a photo is finally taken, a morenatural image is captured. That is, the user's eyes can appear to belooking straight ahead, as opposed to looking down as in theself-portrait modes of conventional devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above features and advantages of the present invention will be moreapparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an image displayed on a related art device, illustratinga problem occurring during shooting an image in the related art;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows exemplary front and rear views of the device, showing frontand rear cameras;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a camera of adevice according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a screen example illustrating a reduced size preview image ina portrait mode according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a screen example illustrating a reduced size preview image ina landscape mode according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a screen example illustrating reduced size and normal sizepreview images according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a screen example illustrating preview images according to athird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a screen example illustrating a preview image according to afourth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a screen example illustrating an example of moving a previewimage according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the accompanying drawings in detail. The same or likereference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the sameor like parts. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions andstructures incorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring thesubject matter of the present invention.

The present invention is applicable to various devices providing acamera function. Examples include hand held general electronic terminalssuch as a smart phone, a portable terminal, a mobile terminal, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP)device, a notebook computer, a Note Pad, a Wibro terminal, a Tablet PCand a smart PC. The invention also has applicability to non-portableelectronic devices, such as a smart refrigerator providing a camerafunction.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a device 100according to an exemplary embodiment. Device 100 includes an input unit110, a camera 120, a controller 130, a memory 140, and a display unit150.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the input unit 110may receive a mode setting input command for displaying a reduced sizepreview image within a given sub-region of display unit 150. Inembodiments, the reduced size preview image is displayed instead of (orin addition to) displaying the same, albeit larger, preview image overthe entire display 150 as in a conventional preview image. Inembodiments, a front camera lens of device 100 is located at a topportion of device 100. In a self-portrait mode of device 100 in whichthe front lens is used to capture an image, the reduced size previewimage is displayed on a display region proximate the front camera lens.In this manner, the user views the preview image displayed near thelens, just prior to operating a key or touching an icon on the camera to“take the picture”. Thus, the user's eyes, when viewing the reduced sizepreview image, are gazing in a direction close to the front lens,whereby the finally captured image appears natural. That is, the user'seyes in the finally captured image are typically looking straight ahead,rather than looking down. As explained above, in conventional devices apreview image is displayed on the entire display screen such that theuser's eyes are typically focused on the center of the screen just priorto taking the picture, and since the front lens is located above thedisplay screen, the user's eyes appear looking down in the finallycaptured photo. Embodiments described herein avoid capturing this typeof unnatural image by displaying a reduced size preview image inproximity to the front camera lens. The input unit 110 generates anoperation signal according to input of the user, and may be configuredby a key pad, a dome switch, a jog wheel, or a jog switch. The inputunit 110 may include a touch sensor, a pressure sensor, a proximitysensor, and/or an electro-magnetic sensor. The input unit 110 may beconfigured in the form of a pad such as a touch pad (constantpressure/capacitive), an Electro Magnetic Resonance (EMR) pad, and anElectro Magnetic Interference (EMI) pad. The input unit may detect inputof a user through sensors, that is, by various input means such as abody (e.g., hand) of the user, a physical tool, and a stylus pen. Theinput unit 110 may include a plurality of pads forming a layerstructure.

The input unit 110 may have a layer structure with the display unit 150to act as a touch screen. For example, the input unit 110 may include aninput pad having a touch sensor and may be configured by a Touch ScreenPanel (TSP) coupled to the display unit 150.

The display unit 150 displays (outputs) an image processed by the device100. For example, the display unit 150 may display a User Interface (UI)e.g., a Graphic User Interface (GUI), associated with shooting of thecamera. The display unit 150 may include at least one of a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display(TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display,and a 3D display. The display unit 150 may have a mutual layer structurewith a touch sensor and/or an electromagnetic sensor and act as a touchscreen. In this case, the display unit 150 acting as the touch screenmay perform a function of an input device.

Hereafter, the noun “display” will refer to all the pixels of a displayunit. “Display 150” refers to all the pixels of display unit 150.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the input unit 110may receive input with respect to an image shooting (i.e., picturetaking) request. Further, the input unit 110 may receive input withrespect to storage, edit, management, and removal of the shot image.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the input unit 110may receive a mode setting input command for displaying a reduced sizepreview image within a given sub-region of display 150.

The camera 120 can capture an image including at least one subject. Thecamera 120 may include a lens unit 121, an imaging unit 122 convertingan optical signal with respect to a subject projected from the lens unit121 into an electric signal, an image converter 123 processing andconverting a signal output from the imaging unit 122 into a digitalsignal, and a camera controller 124 controlling an overall operation ofthe camera 120. The lens unit 121 is configured by at least one lens,and collects light to capture an image and to provide the captured imageto the imaging unit 122. The imaging unit 122 is configured by a CMOSimaging device or a CCD imaging device, outputs a current or a voltageproportional to brightness of the captured image to convert the imageinto an electric signal. The imaging unit 122 generates signals for eachpixel of an image and sequentially outputs the signals insynchronization with a clock. The image converter 123 converts thesignal output from the imaging unit 122 into digital data. The imageconverter 123 may include a CODEC compressing the converted digital datato a JPEG format or an MPEG format. The digital data converted by theimage converter 123 are transmitted to the controller 130 so that theconverted digital data may be used for an operation of the device 100.

For example, the controller 130 controls the display unit 150 to displayan image captured through the camera 130 as a preview image so that theuser may confirm a desired image before inputting a shooting requestcommand to store the displayed preview image in memory, i.e., before“taking the picture”. A predetermined icon on the display 150 may betouched to input a shooting request command, or a predetermined shutterbutton/key may be alternatively provided in a suitable location ondevice 100. According to generation of a shooting request input by theuser, the controller 130 may shoot the image captured through the camera120 when the shooting request occurs to generate an image. Herein, animage thus shot due to the shooting request is referred to either as a“generated image,” a “finally captured” image or as a “photographicimage”. The generated image may be temporarily or permanently stored inthe memory 140. The controller 130 may store a camera setting value atthe generation time of the shooting request associated with thegenerated image as meta data.

At least two cameras or lenses at different locations may be included indevice 100. Typically, only one of the at least two cameras is used atany given time. If two or more lenses are included in camera 120 atdifferent locations, a switching means may be employed to switch betweenthe lenses so that the camera captures different images via therespective lenses non-simultaneously. In alternative embodiments, two ormore completely independent cameras 120 are provided, enablingsimultaneous capture of different images via respective lenses.

Referring to FIG. 3, the camera 120 may include a front camera 120 a forshooting in a self-portrait mode (referred to herein as “self-mode”) anda rear camera 120 b for shooting a subject or scene located in front ofthe user. Front camera 120 a and rear camera 120 b include front andrear camera lenses 121 a and 121 b, respectively. In some embodiments,front camera 120 a and rear camera 120 b each includes its own imagingunit 122, image converter 123 and camera controller 124. With thisapproach, it is possible to operate the front and rear camerassimultaneously and independently.

In other embodiments, only one of the cameras 120 a and 120 b isoperative at any given time, and one or more of the components 122-124is shared by the front and rear cameras 120 a, 120 b. In this case, aswitching means (not shown) may be included to selectively switch animage signal path to the image converter 123 between the lenses 121 a,121 b of the front and rear cameras 120 a, 120 b under the control ofcontroller 130 and camera controller 124.

In general, the front camera lens 121 a may be provided at the samesurface as display 150, i.e., at a front surface of the device 100. Theexample of FIG. 3 illustrates that a front camera lens 121 a is provideda top right end of the display 150, but the present invention is notlimited thereto. Locations and the number of the front cameras 120 a orlenses 121 a may be variously implemented. The camera 120 may generate asignal including information about whether the image is collected fromthe front camera 120 a or is collected from the rear camera 120 btogether with a signal with respect to the collected image.

The controller 130 may control respective constituent elements for anoverall operation of the device 100. For example, the controller 130 maycause the display unit 150 to display a preview image based on the imagecollected from the camera 120.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the controller 130generates a preview image with respect to the given region of thedisplay unit 150 formed close to the camera 120 based on the imagecollected from the camera 120, and controls the display unit 150 todisplay a preview image on the given region of the display unit 150. Inthis case, the controller 130 may generate a preview image with respectto entire regions of the display unit 150 based on the collected imageand reduces a preview image with respect to the entire regions to thesize of the given region of the display unit 150 to generate a previewimage with respect to the given region of the display unit 150. Thecontroller 130 may control the display unit 150 to display a previewimage with respect to the given region of the display unit 150 on apreview image with respect to the entire images.

In other words, an image is captured through the camera 120, andsubstantially the entire captured image is displayed as a reduced sizepreview image in a sub-region (partial region) of the display 150proximate the front camera lens 121 a. The sub-region is a minorityportion (less than 50%) of display 150. Substantially the entirecaptured image means either the entire image or nearly the entire image,e.g., at least 80% of the captured image. The reduced size preview imageis an image reduced in size compared to a preview image that wouldnormally be displayed on the entire display 150 (i.e., reduced comparedto a “normal size preview image”). The reduced size preview image can beconsidered a thumbnail image.

According to embodiments, if a shooting or pre-shooting request eventoccurs, the controller 130 controls the display 150 to display a previewimage with respect to the given sub-region of the display 150, i.e., thereduced size preview image is displayed. For example, the event may bean input command on a predetermined shutter key or icon (detected viatouch input or the like), or alternatively, a smile detection, eyeblinking detection, or a lapse of a preset time in a timer mode.

In embodiments, the controller 130 may generate the reduced size previewimage only with respect to the image captured from the front camera 120a. Further, the reduced size preview image may be displayed only when aspecial mode is set, referred to herein as a “reduced size preview imagemode”. This mode may be set according to a user selection thereof, e.g.,in a settings menu, or by touch input or the like on a representativeicon.

The memory 140 may store programs or commands for the device 100. Thecontroller 130 may execute the programs or the commands stored in thememory 140. Memory 140 may include a storage medium having at least onetype of a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card micro, a cardtype of a memory (for example, an SD or XD memory), RAM (Random AccessMemory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory),EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), PROM(Programmable Read-Only Memory), MRAM (Magnetic RAM), a magnetic disc,and an optical disc.

In embodiments, memory 140 may temporarily or permanently store thefinally captured image. Memory 140 may store a shooting time and ashooting place with respect to the stored image, meta data with respectto a setting state, capacity, the size, and a storage format of thecamera 120 associated with the image.

Device 100 may of course include more elements than those shown in FIG.2; however, only elements pertinent to image capture, processing anddisplay are described herein to avoid obscuring the inventive subjectmatter.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a camera of adevice according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Inthe following description thereof, it is assumed that controller 130controls the various operations.

The method starts at step 210 by initiating operation of the camera 120(driving the camera)Here, the camera may be driven according to ageneration request of the user or according to execution of anapplication, a program, and a service requiring drive of the camera. Thefront camera 120 a or the rear camera 120 b may be driven according to acamera mode setting state, or mode setting according to a user requestor an application. Note, however, that the reduced size preview imagesaccording to the principles described herein are particularly relevantto the front camera 120 a operation. For brevity therefore, in thefollowing explanation, description of rear camera 120 b operations areomitted. However, in other embodiments, methods for the generation ofreduced size preview images can also be applicable to rear cameraoperations.

The controller 130 transfers a request signal for driving the camera toa camera controller 124 of the camera 120. The camera controller 124controls respective constituent elements of the camera 120 to convert anoptical signal with respect to the image into an electric signal, viaimaging unit 122 and image converter 123, and transfers the convertedelectric signal (image signal) to the controller 130, where it iscollected (220) After that, the controller 130 may determine whether thefront camera 120 a is driven (230). If so, the process determineswhether the reduced size preview image mode (discussed earlier) is set(240).

This mode may be set according to a user input or setting by an initialvalue set during manufacture of the device 100 or an application, aprogram, or a service driven by the device 100. The reduced size previewimage mode (hereafter, “preview image mode,” for brevity) mayalternatively be called a “guide preview,” “partial preview,”“self-camera guide,” or “self-camera preview” mode.

The controller 130 may control the display unit 150 to display a UI forselecting and setting the preview image mode according to a user inputreceived through the input unit 110.

According to an implementation scheme, when the device 100 ismanufactured not to provide a function regarding preview image modesetting, the foregoing step may be omitted. In this case, the previewimage mode is set as a default (and preferably, a user may be allowed todisable it in a suitable setting menu).

When the preview image mode is set, the controller 130 generates apreview image within the partial region of the display 150 providedclose to the camera (250). As shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the partial(preferably minority) region is preferably close to the front camera 120a. The partial region may be a threshold region in which the user doesnot feel unnaturalness because a vision difference with a state ofstaring at the camera is not significant even if the user shoots aphotograph in a state of staring at a partial region. That is, thepartial region may be a region for inducing the vision of the user to aregion close to the camera, as discussed above. A size, shape, andboundary of the partial region may be set by the user or set duringmanufacture of the device 100.

The controller 130 may directly generate the reduced size preview imageby rendering an image signal received from the camera 120 with respectto the determined partial region of the display 150. In the same manner,the controller 130 may encode the image signal received from the camera120 to a size of the partial region of the display 150 to generate apreview image, and control the display 150 to display the generatedpreview image on a partial region, thereby generating the preview imagewith respect to the partial region.

The controller 130 may generate a preview image with respect to anentire region of the display 150 (i.e., a normal size preview image, asin a conventional portable terminal) by rendering the image signalreceived from the camera 120 to a size corresponding to the entireregion of the display 150, and reduce the normal size preview image tothe size corresponding to the partial region, thereby generating thereduced size preview image with respect to the partial region.

A method of generating a preview image with respect to a partial regionby the controller 130 may be variously implemented according to an imageprocessing scheme applied to the device 100 within a range consistentwith a self portrait.

If, at step 230, the front camera 120 a is not driven or the reducedsize preview image mode is not set, the controller 130 at step 260generates a normal size preview image, over the entire display 150. Whenthe front camera 120 a is not driven, that is, when the image is notcollected by the front camera 120 a, the controller 130 generates anormal size preview image according to a general method of controlling acamera.

Subsequently, the controller 130 displays the reduced size or normalsize preview image at step 270. Although not shown in FIG. 4, step 270may include a sub-step of determining whether an overlapped display modeis selected. In an overlapped display mode, described later withreference to FIG. 7, both the reduced size and normal size previewimages are displayed together, with the former overlapping the latter.

Next, the controller 130 may determine whether the shooting performingrequest occurs (280). This request may be determined according to aninput signal received from the input unit 110. The input unit 110 maydetect the shooting performing request through input through a button ora switch, a touch input through a touch screen, proximity input orpressure input through a pressure sensor included in a bezel of thedevice 100.

If the shooting request occurs, the controller 130 may generate andstore the image (290).

The controller 130 may photograph an image collected from the camera 120when the shooting request occurs to generate an image. The controller130 may generate an image of a JPEG or MPEG format based on a shot imageaccording to an image format supported from the device 100.

The controller 130 may temporarily or permanently store the generatedimage in the memory 140. The controller 130 may store a shooting timeand a shooting place of the image, meta data with respect to a settingstate, capacity, the size, a storage format of the camera 120 duringshooting associated with the image together with the generated image.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen example depicting an embodiment in which areduced size preview image 10 is displayed proximate a lens of a frontcamera 120 a, and no part of the captured image is displayed in aremaining region of the display 150. In this case, the controller 130may process a shade or a different image for the remaining region.

FIG. 5 also illustrates an example of displaying a preview image 10 on apartial region close to the front camera 120 a by the controller 130when shooting in a “portrait” mode. As shown in FIG. 6, when thecontroller 130 photographs in a “landscape” mode, the controller 130 maydisplay the preview image 10 on a region close to the front camera 120a.

In the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6, the partial region is less than ¼ ofthe display region of the display 150. However, as described above, someembodiments are designed to allow the user to set the dimensions andlocations of the partial region. Preferably, the partial region occupiesa minority of the entire display 150.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment in which the reduced size preview imageis displayed appearing to overlay an enlarged version of the samepreview image. In particular, the enlarged version is the same orsubstantially the same preview image, but sized for display on theentire display 150. Herein, as mentioned earlier, a preview imagedisplayed on the entire display is called a normal size preview image.Thus the controller 130 may display a normal size preview image 20,except for a partial portion thereof removed, and the reduced sizepreview image 10 is displayed in the removed partial portion. Hence inthis embodiment, the reduced size preview image 10 is displayed toappear overlaying or overlapping the normal size preview image 20. Inembodiments, the entire normal preview image can be displayed first.Thereafter, a reduced size preview image mode command can be detected,whereupon the controller causes the reduced size preview image to bedisplayed overlaying the normal preview image as depicted in FIG. 7.This mode command may be an input command of the user, such as touchinga pre designated icon.

Alternatively, in certain embodiments of the present invention, thereduced size preview mode command can be automatically detected from acharacteristic of the captured image itself, such as a smile. Thistechnique can then be combined with a timer function, to automaticallytake the picture when a preset timer period elapses, e.g., severalseconds following the generation of the reduced size preview image. Thisapproach gives the user a few seconds to refocus his eyes on the previewimage once it appears, rather than on the normal size image which canremain displayed overlapping the reduced size image. As anotheralternative, once the characteristic such as a smile is detected, thenormal size preview image may be caused to disappear while the reducedsize preview image is displayed (as in the screen examples of FIG. 5 OR6). An example of a smile detection method which may be automaticallyfollowed by a timer is described next in connection with FIG. 8.

For instance, the controller 130 may display the reduced size previewimage according to generation of an event corresponding to apre-shooting request. In detail, the controller 130 may first generateand display a normal size preview image on display 150. Next, controller130 may determine whether an event corresponding to a pre-shootingrequest occurs. For example, this event may include smile detection, eyeblinking detection, or lapse of a preset time in a timer mode. Thecontroller 130 may implement various image recognition algorithmsrecognizing a human face to detect whether smile or eye blinking occursin the image.

If the event corresponding to the pre-shooting request occurs, thecontroller 130 may display the reduced size preview image. If thepre-shooting request occurs after displaying the normal size previewimage, the controller 130 may then display the reduced size previewimage.

For example, referring to FIG. 8, the controller 130 may display anormal size preview image 20 with respect to the entire regions of thedisplay 150. If the smile detection event occurs as the eventcorresponding to the pre-shooting request, the controller 130 maydisplay a reduced size preview image 10 with respect to the partialregion of the display 150 provided close to the camera 120 a. In thiscase, the controller 130 may display the reduced preview image 10 withrespect to the partial region to overlap with the normal preview image20. Thereafter, the preview image may be finally captured and storedautomatically after a preset time, e.g., one to several seconds, givingthe user time to gaze in the direction of the reduced size preview image10.

FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention, whichemploys a timer function. In this embodiment, the controller 130 maydetect lapse of a preset time in a timer mode by the event correspondingto a pre-shooting request. When a time set by timer mode setting is afirst time period, e.g., five seconds, the controller 130 photographswhen five seconds lapses after the pre-shooting request is generated.While counting five seconds in the timer mode, the controller 130 maydisplay a normal size preview image 20 on display 150. If a preset timeamong a time set in the timer mode lapses and a second preset time,e.g., three seconds, remains, the controller 130 may display the reducedsize preview image 10. The preset time may be set by the user or in adefault value during manufacture of the device 100. For example, thepreset time may be a time from a time set in the timer mode to a timebefore three seconds in performing shooting. The controller 130 maydisplay the preview image 10 with respect to the partial region tooverlap with the preview image with respect to the entire region. Forexample, after an additional three seconds elapse following the displayof reduced size preview image 10, the image is finally captured. Thus,the user is given sufficient time to refocus her eyes on the smallpreview image 10 which is near the camera 120 a, prior to the pictureactually being taken and stored.

As described above, the method of controlling a camera of the presentinvention displays a preview image on the given region of the displayunit 150 provided close to the camera to minimize a vision differencebetween the camera and the preview image so that eyes of the user on aphotograph appear natural even if the user shoots a photograph whileviewing the preview image.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 130may cause the displayed preview image 10 to be moved. In detail, thecontroller 130 may detect input of the user with respect to the previewimage 10 displayed on the display unit 150 according to an input signalreceived from the input unit 110. The user input with respect to thepreview image 10 may be touch input or proximity input, and may beconfigured by touch and drag operation, flip operation, or pinch-in/outoperation.

The controller 130 may move a preview image 10 displayed correspondingto the user input. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the user inputis an input of touching the preview image 10 and dragging the previewimage 10 to another location, the controller 130 may move the previewimage 10 according to a location of the drag input. Accordingly, tophotograph in a state the user changes the vision to another locationwithout viewing the camera 120 a, the user may photograph whileconfirming the user's feature through the preview image 10.

In addition to moving the preview image 10, the controller 130 maydisplay menus, reporting, and help with respect to the preview image 10corresponding to input of the user in a pop-up form.

Methods of controlling a camera and a device thereof according to thepresent invention can minimize unnaturalness of eye process of the userduring shooting using the front camera in a device in which the centerof the display is far from the front camera due to the size of thedisplay.

The above-described methods according to the present invention can beimplemented in hardware, firmware or as software or computer code thatcan be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM, an RAM, a floppydisk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloadedover a network originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedin such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that whenaccessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implementthe processing methods described herein. In addition, it would berecognized that when a general purpose computer accesses code forimplementing the processing shown herein, the execution of the codetransforms the general purpose computer into a special purpose computerfor executing the processing shown herein.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood thatmany variations and modifications of the basic inventive concepts hereintaught which may appear to those skilled in the present art will stillfall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a device having a frontcamera, a rear camera and a touch display screen, comprising: acquiringimages through the front camera in a self-portrait mode, the frontcamera disposed at the same side of the device as the touch displayscreen; displaying a live main preview image based on the imagesacquired in the self-portrait mode; and displaying a live mini previewimage based on the images acquired in the self-portrait mode in apartial region of the touch display screen proximate to a lens of thefront camera, wherein, in the self-portrait mode, the live mini previewimage is displayed with the live main preview image.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the live main preview image represents substantially anentirety of an image acquired from the front camera.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: detecting a face area of images acquiredfrom the front camera; and displaying the live mini preview imagerepresenting the detected face area of images acquired from the frontcamera.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying of the livemain preview image is performed without displaying the live mini previewimage prior to the displaying of the live mini preview image togetherwith the live main preview image.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thelive mini preview image is displayed with the live main preview imageduring a lapse of a preset time in a timer mode.
 6. The method of claim4, further comprising detecting a facial expression from the acquiredimages, wherein the live mini preview image is displayed with the livemain preview image in response to detection of the facial expression. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the live mini preview image is displayedtogether with the live main preview image prior to capturing aself-portrait image if the self-portrait mode and a timer mode are bothselected.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: capturing animage of the acquired images as a photographed image after detecting ashooting request; and storing the captured image.
 9. The method of claim1, further comprising: detecting a user input with respect to the livemini preview image; and displaying the live mini preview image in amoved location corresponding to the detected user input.
 10. A device,comprising: a front camera; a rear camera; a touch display screendisposed at the same side of the device as the front camera; and acontroller configured to: control the front camera to acquire images ina self-portrait mode, control the touch display screen to display a livemain preview image based on the images acquired in the self-portraitmode, and control the touch display screen to display a live minipreview image based on the images acquired in the self-portrait mode ina partial region of the touch display screen proximate to a lens of thefront camera, wherein, in the self-portrait mode, the live mini previewimage is displayed with the live main preview image.
 11. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the live main preview image represents substantiallyan entirety of an image acquired from the front camera.
 12. The deviceof claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to: detect aface area of images acquired from the front camera, and control thetouch display screen to display the live mini preview image representingthe detected face area of images acquired from the front camera.
 13. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured tocontrol the touch display screen to display the live main preview imagewithout the live mini preview image prior to display of the live minipreview image together with the live main preview image.
 14. The deviceof claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to control thetouch display screen to display the live mini preview image with thelive main preview image during a lapse of a preset time in a timer mode.15. The device of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configuredto: detect a facial expression from the acquired images, and control thetouch display screen to display the live mini preview image with thelive main preview image in response to detection of the facialexpression.
 16. The device of claim 10, wherein the live mini previewimage is displayed together with the live main preview image prior tocapturing a self-portrait image if the self-portrait mode and a timermode are both selected.
 17. The device of claim 10, further comprising amemory, wherein the controller is further configured to: capture animage of the acquired images as a photographed image after detecting ashooting request; and control the memory to store the captured image.18. The device of claim 10, further comprising an input unit configuredto detect a user input with respect to the live mini preview image,wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchdisplay screen to display the live mini preview image in a movedlocation corresponding to the detected user input.
 19. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to control thetouch display screen to display the live mini preview image to beoverlapped on the live main preview image.
 20. The device of claim 10,wherein the controller is further configured to: detect a rotation ofthe device from a first orientation to a second orientation, and controlthe touch display screen to display live main preview image and the livemini preview image rotated according to the rotation of the device,wherein the rotated live mini preview image is displayed in a partialregion of the touch display screen proximate to the lens of the frontcamera.
 21. The device of claim 10, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to: detect a rotation of the device from a first orientationto a second orientation, and control the touch display screen to displaythe live main preview image and the live mini preview image rotatedaccording to the rotation of the device, wherein a proximity of thedisplayed live mini preview image with respect to the lens of the frontcamera is maintained whether the device is in the first orientation orthe second orientation.
 22. The device of claim 13, wherein thecontroller is further configured to: receive a shooting request whilethe live main preview image is displayed on the touch display screen,and control the touch display screen to display the live mini previewimage with the live main preview image in response to the shootingrequest.
 23. The device of claim 15, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to detect at least one of smiling or eye blinking as thefacial expression.
 24. The device of claim 17, wherein the controller isfurther configured to detect the shooting request in response to atleast one of: receiving an input pressing a physical key disposed onsurface of the device, receiving an input touching an indication ofcamera button displayed on the touch display screen, receiving an inputtouching a point on the live main preview image displayed on the touchdisplay screen, receiving an input touching a point on the live minipreview image displayed on the touch display screen, and detecting afacial expression of images acquired from the front camera.
 25. Thedevice of claim 22, wherein the controller is further configured to:detect a rotation of the device from a first orientation to a secondorientation while the live main preview image is displayed with the livemini preview image, and control the touch display screen to display thelive main preview image and the live mini preview image rotatedaccording to the rotation of the device, wherein the rotated live minipreview image is displayed in a partial region of the touch displayscreen proximate to the lens of the front camera.
 26. The device ofclaim 25, wherein the controller is further configured to: detect a facearea of images acquired from the front camera, and control the touchdisplay screen to display the live mini preview image representing thedetected face area of images acquired from the front camera.
 27. Thedevice of claim 26, wherein the controller is further configured tocontrol the touch display screen to display the live mini preview imageto be overlapped on the live main preview image.
 28. The device of claim27, wherein the controller is further configured to detect the shootingrequest in response to at least one of: receiving an input pressing aphysical key disposed on surface of the device, receiving an inputtouching an indication of camera button displayed on the touch displayscreen, receiving an input touching a point on the live main previewimage displayed on the touch display screen, receiving an input touchinga point on the live mini preview image displayed on the touch displayscreen, and detecting a facial expression of images acquired from thefront camera.
 29. The method of claim 1, wherein the live mini previewimage is displayed with overlapping on the live main preview image. 30.The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting a rotation of thedevice from a first orientation to a second orientation; and displayingthe live main preview image and the live mini preview image rotatedaccording to the rotation of the device, wherein the rotated live minipreview image is displayed in a partial region of the touch displayscreen proximate to the lens of the front camera.
 31. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: detecting a rotation of the device from afirst orientation to a second orientation; and displaying the live mainpreview image and the live mini preview image rotated according to therotation of the device, wherein a proximity of the displayed live minipreview image with respect to the lens of the front camera is maintainedwhether the device is in the first orientation or the secondorientation.
 32. The method of claim 4, further comprising: receiving ashooting request while the live main preview image is displayed first;and displaying the live mini preview image with the live main previewimage in response to the shooting request.
 33. The method of claim 6,wherein the facial expression comprises at least one of smile or eyeblinking.
 34. The method of claim 8, wherein detecting the shootingrequest comprises at least one of: receiving an input pressing aphysical key disposed on surface of the device; receiving an inputtouching an indication of camera button displayed on the touch displayscreen; receiving an input touching a point on the live main previewimage displayed on the touch display screen; receiving an input touchinga point on the live mini preview image displayed on the touch displayscreen; and detecting a facial expression of images acquired from thefront camera.
 35. The method of claim 32, further comprising: detectinga rotation of the device from a first orientation to a secondorientation while the live main preview image is displayed with the livemini preview image; and displaying the live main preview image and thelive mini preview image rotated according to the rotation of the device,wherein the rotated live mini preview image is displayed in a partialregion of the touch display screen proximate to the lens of the frontcamera.
 36. The method of claim 35, further comprising: detecting a facearea of images acquired from the front camera; and displaying the livemini preview image representing the detected face area of imagesacquired from the front camera.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein thelive mini preview image is displayed with overlapping on the live mainpreview image.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein detecting theshooting request comprises at least one of: receiving an input pressinga physical key disposed on surface of the device; receiving an inputtouching an indication of camera button displayed on the touch displayscreen; receiving an input touching any point on the live main previewimage displayed on the touch display screen; receiving an input touchingany point on the live mini preview image displayed on the touch displayscreen; and detecting a facial expression.
 39. The device of claim 13,wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchdisplay screen to display the live mini preview image with the live mainpreview image in response to smile detection.
 40. The device of claim13, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchdisplay screen to display the live mini preview image with the live mainpreview image in response to eye blinking detection.
 41. The device ofclaim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to: detect arotation of the device from a first orientation to a second orientation,and control the touch display screen to display live main preview imageand the live mini preview image rotated according to the rotation of thedevice, wherein a proximity of the displayed live mini preview imagewith respect to the lens of the front camera is maintained whether thedevice is in the first orientation or the second orientation.
 42. Thedevice of claim 39, wherein the controller is further configured to:detect a rotation of the device from a first orientation to a secondorientation, and control the touch display screen to display live mainpreview image and the live mini preview image rotated according to therotation of the device, wherein a proximity of the displayed live minipreview image with respect to the lens of the front camera is maintainedwhether the device is in the first orientation or the secondorientation.
 43. The device of claim 40, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: detect a rotation of the device from a firstorientation to a second orientation, and control the touch displayscreen to display live main preview image and the live mini previewimage rotated according to the rotation of the device, wherein aproximity of the displayed live mini preview image with respect to thelens of the front camera is maintained whether the device is in thefirst orientation or the second orientation.
 44. The method of claim 4,wherein the live mini preview image is displayed with the live mainpreview image in response to smile detection.
 45. The method of claim 4,wherein the live mini preview image is displayed with the live mainpreview image in response to eye blinking detection.
 46. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: detecting a rotation of the device from afirst orientation to a second orientation; and displaying the live mainpreview image and the live mini preview image rotated according to therotation of the device, wherein a proximity of the displayed live minipreview image with respect to the lens of the front camera is maintainedwhether the device is in the first orientation or the secondorientation.
 47. The method of claim 44, further comprising: detecting arotation of the device from a first orientation to a second orientation;and displaying the live main preview image and the live mini previewimage rotated according to the rotation of the device, wherein aproximity of the displayed live mini preview image with respect to thelens of the front camera is maintained whether the device is in thefirst orientation or the second orientation.
 48. The method of claim 45,further comprising: detecting a rotation of the device from a firstorientation to a second orientation; and displaying the live mainpreview image and the live mini preview image rotated according to therotation of the device, wherein a proximity of the displayed live minipreview image with respect to the lens of the front camera is maintainedwhether the device is in the first orientation or the secondorientation.
 49. The device of claim 13, wherein the controller isfurther configured to the touch display screen to display the live minipreview image with the live main preview image in response to shootingrequest.
 50. The device of claim 49, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to: detect a rotation of the device from a first orientationto a second orientation, and control the touch display screen to displaylive main preview image and the live mini preview image rotatedaccording to the rotation of the device, wherein a proximity of thedisplayed live mini preview image with respect to the lens of the frontcamera is maintained whether the device is in the first orientation orthe second orientation.
 51. The method of claim 4, wherein the live minipreview image is displayed with the live main preview image in responseto shooting request.
 52. The method of claim 51, further comprising:detecting a rotation of the device from a first orientation to a secondorientation; and displaying the live main preview image and the livemini preview image rotated according to the rotation of the device,wherein a proximity of the displayed live mini preview image withrespect to the lens of the front camera is maintained whether the deviceis in the first orientation or the second orientation.
 53. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to: if the deviceis in a first orientation, control the touch display screen to displaythe live mini preview image in the partial region proximate to the lensof the front camera, and if the device is in a second orientationdifferent from the first orientation, control the touch display screento display the live mini preview image in the partial region proximateto the lens of the front camera.
 54. The device of claim 14, wherein thecontroller is further configured to: if the device is in a firstorientation, control the touch display screen to display the live minipreview image in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera, and if the device is in a second orientation different from thefirst orientation, control the touch display screen to display the livemini preview image in the partial region proximate to the lens of thefront camera.
 55. The device of claim 22, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: if the device is in a first orientation, controlthe touch display screen to display the live mini preview image in thepartial region proximate to the lens of the front camera, and if thedevice is in a second orientation different from the first orientation,control the touch display screen to display the live mini preview imagein the partial region proximate to the lens of the front camera.
 56. Thedevice of claim 39, wherein the controller is further configured to: ifthe device is in a first orientation, control the touch display screento display the live mini preview image in the partial region proximateto the lens of the front camera, and if the device is in a secondorientation different from the first orientation, control the touchdisplay screen to display the live mini preview image in the partialregion proximate to the lens of the front camera.
 57. The device ofclaim 40, wherein the controller is further configured to: if the deviceis in a first orientation, control the touch display screen to displaythe live mini preview image in the partial region proximate to the lensof the front camera, and if the device is in a second orientationdifferent from the first orientation, control the touch display screento display the live mini preview image in the partial region proximateto the lens of the front camera.
 58. The device of claim 49, wherein thecontroller is further configured to: if the device is in a firstorientation, control the touch display screen to display the live minipreview image in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera, and if the device is in a second orientation different from thefirst orientation, control the touch display screen to display the livemini preview image in the partial region proximate to the lens of thefront camera.
 59. The device of claim 10, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: if the device is in a first orientation, controlthe touch display screen to display the live mini preview image in thefirst orientation in the partial region proximate to the lens of thefront camera, and if the device is in a second orientation differentfrom the first orientation, control the touch display screen to displaythe live mini preview image maintained to be displayed in the firstorientation in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera.
 60. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the device is in a firstorientation, the live mini preview image is displayed in the partialregion proximate to the lens of the front camera; and if the device isin a second orientation different from the first orientation, the livemini preview image is displayed in the partial region proximate to thelens of the front camera.
 61. The method of claim 32, wherein, if thedevice is in a first orientation, the live mini preview image isdisplayed in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera; and if the device is in a second orientation different from thefirst orientation, the live mini preview image is displayed in thepartial region proximate to the lens of the front camera.
 62. The methodof claim 5, wherein, if the device is in a first orientation, the livemini preview image is displayed in the partial region proximate to thelens of the front camera; and if the device is in a second orientationdifferent from the first orientation, the live mini preview image isdisplayed in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera.
 63. The method of claim 44, wherein, if the device is in a firstorientation, the live mini preview image is displayed in the partialregion proximate to the lens of the front camera; and if the device isin a second orientation different from the first orientation, the livemini preview image is displayed in the partial region proximate to thelens of the front camera.
 64. The method of claim 45, wherein, if thedevice is in a first orientation, the live mini preview image isdisplayed in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera; and if the device is in a second orientation different from thefirst orientation, the live mini preview image is displayed in thepartial region proximate to the lens of the front camera.
 65. The methodof claim 51, wherein, if the device is in a first orientation, the livemini preview image is displayed in the partial region proximate to thelens of the front camera; and if the device is in a second orientationdifferent from the first orientation, the live mini preview image isdisplayed in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera.
 66. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the device is in a firstorientation, the live mini preview image in the first orientation isdisplayed in the partial region proximate to the lens of the frontcamera; and if the device is in a second orientation different from thefirst orientation, the live mini preview image is maintained to bedisplayed in the first orientation in the partial region proximate tothe lens of the front camera.